From Humble Beginnings to Diving Excellence:
The DirDirect Story
In 1998, the allure of the underwater world wasn't just a passion; it was the spark that ignited today’s Underwater Explorers | DirDirect.
Back then, we were a small, local dive centre on the South coast of Britain, driven by a shared love for the ocean and a relentless determination to share that passion with others.
Equipped with a wealth of diving knowledge and a genuine desire to help people explore the wonders beneath the waves, we embarked on a journey that would, over 25 years, redefine the diving experience for countless individuals.
Our early days were filled with hard work, long hours, and, most importantly, the camaraderie of a close-knit team. We weren't just colleagues but diving buddies, united by a commitment to exceptional service and a thirst for adventure.
Every satisfied customer and successful dive course completion fuelled our drive to improve constantly. We saw a gap in the market—a need for a dive centre offering top-quality equipment and a supportive and knowledgeable community based on sound diving practices.
This vision became our guiding star, propelling us to push boundaries and break new ground. Creativity wasn't just a buzzword; it was woven into the very fabric of our approach. We weren't afraid to try new things, such as pioneering innovative training methods, utilising innovative equipment or organising unique diving experiences and projects.
We embraced the power of collaboration, fostering strong relationships with the world’s leading technical divers and equipment manufacturers and constantly seeking ways to enhance the diving experience for enthusiasts of all levels.
This dedication to progress manifested in our expertly curated selection of gear, which caters to the specific needs of recreational and technical, expedition-level divers.
As the years unfolded, our reputation for excellence began to spread beyond our local shores. Word of mouth, fuelled by the positive experiences of our ever-growing community, propelled us onto the national and international stage.
We embraced the digital revolution, establishing an online store that offered the same dedication to reliable, robust diving gear, the same level of expertise, and the exceptional service we were renowned for in our physical store. Our love for cutting-edge equipment from leading manufacturers became our trademark.
This shift not only extended our reach to divers throughout the UK, but also opened the door to an ever-growing global audience.
Today, 25 years on, Underwater Explorers stands proudly as one of the UK's leading diving stores with an extensive stock of select, quality equipment, and our online store, DirDirect, boasts a growing loyal international clientele.
However, our core values remain unchanged. We're still a passionate team, fuelled by the same unwavering commitment to providing exceptional service, fostering a supportive community, and pushing the boundaries of the diving experience.
Our journey, spanning over two decades, is a testament to the power of teamwork, creativity, and sheer determination.
As we look towards the future, we remain steadfast in our mission to inspire exploration, ignite passion, and empower divers of all levels to safely and confidently explore the breathtaking underwater world.
If you’re here for the first time… Welcome aboard! For those of you who already know us, thank you for your ongoing support!
If you want to learn more about our history and why we’ve often been called “the wing and long hose centre” click the link below:
Underwater Explorers | DirDirect Reviews
Ratings as of April 2024: Facebook 4.9 | Google 4.7 | Trustpilot 4.4
You can read some of our select reviews below:
"Top place, top people providing top service..."
As ever, first class service!
Great dive store, knowledgeable and helpful advice on kit. Highly recommend.
Trustpilot
Excellent service at very competitive prices.
Everything you could possibly need .
Fantastic service, value, fitting. Thanks All
Trustpilot
Rapid delivery & competitive pricing as always - thoroughly recommended!
Top dive center nice people expert advice.
The team at Underwater Explorers is fantastic, always happy to take the time to give some great advice. The choice of equipment they have is excellent too. Highly recommend visiting them!!
Trustpilot
Very professional and top quality.
Team highly experienced, knowledgeable and professional. Always enjoy my experiences when I get there or purchase online.
Excellent, quick responses and speedy delivery when ordering online. Thanks!!
Trustpilot
More quality toys. Excellent as expected from such a professional outfit. Can’t say better than that.
Dive paradise for new toys!
Great range of gear, good prices and prompt delivery. Great service guys.
Trustpilot
Excellent communication. Phoned me on 2 occasions to clarify product/delivery.
Very friendly and very knowledgeable! I was on holiday and found this place to have very good quality equipment and very honest advice on what I needed to buy. They turned me away from buying things I didnt need & gave me good local advise on places to dive. I will definitely go back :-)
As per usual outstanding service and very competitive pricing. Placed an order at 15:30 yesterday and it’s on my doorstep less than 24 hours later!
Trustpilot
Good service, fast delivery, no problems.
The best dive shop in the world. Great service as always.
Superb diving shop. Never short of stock, always plenty of options for rec or Tec kit. Staff are actual divers, smart, knowledgable and informed who take time to find the right product for you.
Trustpilot
Speedy delivery. Exactly what I ordered. Excellent service again.
Absolute Mecca for dive gear. Loads of stock, the best kit available and the staff really know their stuff. Best dive shop I've been to in the UK 👌🏻
Great service from the team. Always ready with a smile and can never do enough to help. Just wish I lived closer so I could use them more often.
Trustpilot
DirDirect saved my dive. While packing for a holiday I found an issue needing a replacement. Thankfully DirDirect was able to supply the item quickly saving my holiday. Very professional and excellent customer service.
Probably one of the best dive shops in the U.K. They carry a wide selection of good quality stock and have you covered from your open water needs though to technical diving. What’s really nice about shopping here is that the customer service is wonderful. Very informed staff but not pushy in any way.
Next day delivery and service with a smile. This is how all dive shops should be run. You'll get more business from me for sure.
Trustpilot
Fantastic service from a company that I trust. Great relationship built up over 20 years.
In my opinion and many others... this really is the number one Dive shop in the UK for sales, hire, servicing and gas fills. Astonishing customer service and professionalism that is simply on another level. You will not be disappointed.
The best online shop found at this time!!! Ordered wednesday, delivered friday in the morning in Italy!!!! WOW !!! Excellent !!!Very fast and cheap!!!
Trustpilot
Fast, reliable service. If I need to order kit online and know it will arrive within a couple of days, Dirdirect is the place I go.
Friendly, helpful and well organised.
These folks rock! They beat the price of my local dive shop by more than half, even with shipping to the USA, and on top of that, they were prompt to answer emails and provide tracking information. Thank you!
Trustpilot
Phoned to check stock 4pm day one, delivered midday day 2. Helpful team and top notch service.
Very helpful and knowledgeable staff with a wide range of products
Great service as always. Quick turn around on an urgent order.
Trustpilot
An awesome company. Credit where credit is due. These guys are awesome. They are knowledgable, you can ring them and they are happy to dispense advice, and they are super fast and sending stuff out. An awesome company and my go to place for tech diving supplies.
"Fantastic British dive shop by the sea".
Wide selection of lovely things to buy. Great advice from the staff. Not pushy at all.
Trustpilot
Brilliant range of products and brilliant value. Ordered new fins. Cheryl kept me updated. Delivery was tracked. Excellent!
I’ve purchased quite a bit from here now. They’ve always had the best deals and best prices, in store or online. I’ve ordered online and had delivered next day or I’ve ordered online and collected same day... I live 3 hours from the store, and I live in a sea side town with a popular dive shop… but I’ll always use dirdirect / underwater explorers each and every time!
Great shop , top products and excellent service.
Trustpilot
Brilliant shop and excellent customer service.
Super friendly staff! They helped me set my daughter's BPW out and did all they could to get her going! Lovely chat and sharing photos of Lundy trip that we'll be enjoying ourselves. Good stock and fill up station too :) Definitely worth the visit :)
Excellent service, really helpful staff. Thank you!
Trustpilot
Cracking customer service... will be back for more diving gear.
Amazing staff who are knowledgeable and friendly. Always willing to talk through any questions you may have regarding diving. With great gas fulls too.
The staff are very friendly, with great product knowledge and diving advice for the local area, they just love diving.
Trustpilot
Excellent, highly recommended... I buy from them because of the value they add to the selection of my personal equipment, it saves money in the long run by buying from somebody who knows what they are talking about. Absolutely indispensable service, well done.
Absolutely great dive shop. They were really patient and helpful with me whilst I was buying an undersuit for my drysuit and really have an understanding of what divers want and need. The equipment is extremely high quality. Thoroughly recommend.
Incredibly knowledgeable staff and the patients of a saint...Came away with a new way of thinking, fantastic new equipment and enthusiasm not seen since I first trained to dive. Incredibly stocked show room and amazing customer service.
Trustpilot
I have used UWE for many years and for good reason. The staff are super knowledgeable, they love the industry and go out of their way to help. Online ordering is always supper reliable and quick. Keep it up UWE - Great shop, great staff & great online ordering.
Awesome selection of high quality stock, very friendly and helpful staff, a diver's paradise.
This dive shop is the tops well stocked with all the top names very friendly staff who always give good advice nothing is ever to much trouble for these guys would highly recommend you pay them a visit if in the erea and a fast and efficient online ordering service.
Trustpilot
Fantastic shop, been going there for years. Very knowledgeable and give good honest advice when you're looking for something. I always like going in person so I can talk to the staff and they always keep me right. When they don't have something in stock they can get it ordered and out to you with no fuss. Highly recommended!
Very friendly and very knowledgeable! I was on holiday and found this place to have very good quality equipment and very honest advice on what I needed to buy. They turned me away from buying things I didnt need & gave me good local advise on places to dive. I will definitely go back :-)
YOUR FEEDBACK MATTERS
If you've shopped from us in-store or online, we'd love to get your feedback. A quick review on Trustpilot (DirDirect), or Google, or Facebook would go a long way and would be greatly appreciated. It helps others as much as us, both to learn how we're doing and how we can improve to serve you and others better in the future.
